Bazo: the language that could hold our spacefaring future together
Original: Essay
I’m indie writer Teague de La Plaine, author of the bestselling Sea at Sunrise and other stories. This is my weekly newsletter, where I talk about writing and self-publishing in addition to my own life. I keep the newsletter free, because I prefer you spend your money on my books.
Esperanto: Language of Hope
When people hear “Esperanto,” they often imagine a niche community of idealists keeping an artificial language alive out of sheer passion. It’s viewed as a utopian hobby, not a practical tool. But that perception misses the mark. Esperanto could be the key to humanity’s success as a spacefaring civilization.
That said, Esperanto needs a rebrand—one that emphasizes its utility, not its idealism. Let’s call it Bazo—from the Esperanto word for Basic.
As humanity inches closer to colonizing planets, building orbital habitats, and expanding beyond Earth, communication will become one of our biggest challenges. A shared, neutral language could prevent misunderstandings, save lives, and create cohesion where national and linguistic identities collide. Bazo fits that role perfectly.
Colonial Cohesion Through Neutrality
Imagine a Martian colony where settlers come from China, Germany, Brazil, and Kenya. Each arrives with their own native tongue and cultural framework. What language will they default to? English? Mandarin? Spanish? No matter the choice, someone feels sidelined. One language inevitably dominates, leading to resentment and reinforcing power structures from Earth.
Enter Bazo. It’s not tied to any single country, government, or colonial history. This neutrality makes it the perfect candidate for a planetary lingua franca. It’s simple, easy to learn, and designed for inclusivity. Bazo could serve as the diplomatic glue binding together diverse communities, allowing colonies to operate without linguistic hierarchies. It’s already recognized as an auxiliary language of the United Nations.
A space colony is a fragile ecosystem, both socially and technologically. The fewer points of friction, the better. A neutral language strips away one potential source of conflict and fosters a sense of collective identity—one that isn’t rooted in Earth-bound divisions.
Life or Death: Efficiency in Crisis
In space, seconds matter. A miscommunication during a fire or decompression event can mean the difference between survival and catastrophe. Bazo’s regular grammar and simplified structure make it faster to learn and easier to use under pressure.
Consider this: English has hundreds of irregular verbs, ambiguous pronunciations, and inconsistent rules that even native speakers struggle with. Bazo, by contrast, operates on a “what you see is what you get” principle. No irregular verbs. No exceptions. In a crisis, clarity saves lives.
Marketing Bazo as the “Language That Saves Lives” might sound dramatic, but the stakes are high. When alarms blare and oxygen levels drop, you don’t want crew members fumbling through translation errors. A universally understood, efficient language could quite literally be the difference between calm resolution and tragic failure.
The Long Game: A Galactic Identity
Beyond practical needs, Bazo offers something intangible but equally vital—identity. As we move off-world, humanity needs to think of itself less as a collection of nations and more as a unified species. Bazo represents that shift. It’s a language created to transcend borders, one that can evolve alongside our expansion into the cosmos.
If humanity is serious about becoming a spacefaring species, communication cannot be left to chance or dominance. Bazo may not seem essential now, but in a hundred years, it could be the backbone of interstellar cooperation. We just need to start treating it like the survival tool it is.
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